The Carolina Hurricanes erased an Ottawa Senators lead with a four-goal third-period explosion, including a pair of power-play goals that broke open a 1-1 tie.

With Thomas Chabot and Cody Ceci in the penalty box, Justin Williams took full advantage of the 5-on-3 edge, ripping a shot over Senators goaltender Anders Nilsson at 7:29.

Hurricanes goaltender Curtis McElhinney (35) looks on as Senators centre Jean-Gabriel Pageau (44) deflects the puck off his skate towards the net during the second period. The puck crossed the line, but the apparent goal was disallowed after an NHL video review.Adrian Wyld /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

With the Hurricanes still on the power play, Teuvo Teravainen also beat Nilsson, padding the lead to 3-1. Teravainen then capped the scoring with his second of the night.

The Senators came into this contest on a two-game winning streak. They had also been sparkling in short-handed situations, not allowing a power play goal in their previous eight games.

While the snow and wind whistled outside, it was quiet inside. The official attendance was announced as 10,648, but there were only about 6,000 fans who braved the elements to take in the contest.

The Senators had taken a 1-0 lead on Mark Stone’s first-period goal, but the Hurricanes erased that deficit early in the third. After a couple of poor clearing attempts by the Senators, Michael Ferland scored 16 seconds into the period to create a 1-1 deadlock.

Then came the Hurricanes power play explosion.

Hurricanes forward Teuvo Teravainen (86) looks on as Senators centre Jean-Gabriel Pageau (44) collides with Hurricanes centre Sebastian Aho (20) along the boards during the third period.Adrian Wyld /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

“They came out hard in the third and it didn’t go like we wanted,” Senators centre Jean-Gabriel Pageau said. “It’s never fun to give up goals on the penalty kill. We were on a good run. I think it was 17 in a row that we had killed. We’ll try to correct these little mistakes that we did and keep our heads up.”

There had been potential for plenty more goals in the opening 40 minutes as the teams went back and forth and back and forth again.

The Senators had one taken off the board in the second period, when an apparent Pageau goal was disallowed after a video review.

After a hard-working shift by Pageau, Zack Smith and Magnus Paajarvi, Pageau kicked the puck from the side of the net. It banked off the pads of Hurricanes goaltender Curtis McElhinney, stationed in the crease, and into the net.

By the hard rules of the National Hockey League, a goal can be disallowed if it’s deemed to have resulted from a kicking motion — even if the puck bounces off a player on either team before entering the net.

“It was a tough night for me,” Pageau said. “I had a couple of stitches, a goal refused, but it’s a fast game and it’s a fast game for (the officials), too. I don’t think that was a kicking motion. I was just trying to re-direct it to my stick and it happened to go into the net.”

Nilsson had been on a roll in the Senators net, having stopped 88 of 90 shots in wins over the Anaheim Ducks and Winnipeg Jets last week.

He was sharp in keeping the Hurricanes from scoring early.

Senators winger Mark Stone (61) celebrates with teammates after scoring in the first period. It was his 26th goal of the season, tying a career season best.Adrian Wyld /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

Stone played 7:42 in the opening period — some of it on a de facto fourth line with Chris Tierney and Rudolfs Balcers — and appeared to have extra jump.

His goal was all about following the bouncing puck. After McElhinney booted out a shot by Chabot, the Senators took turns getting the puck to the net before Stone neatly punched it out of mid-air and over the Hurricanes goaltender.

Stone, who also scored twice against Winnipeg on Saturday, has tied his career season high with 26 goals.

Given the endless speculation that he could be traded away, how many more will come in a Senators uniform?

Pierre Dorion confirmed to me today continued desire to try and sign Stone Duchesne… Would not talk about return till 10 days out from deadline…. if unable to sign by then

The Senators are scheduled to leave Wednesday for Detroit, beginning a four-game road trip that will also take them to Winnipeg, Chicago and New Jersey.

What will the roster look like when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets at home on Feb. 22, three days before the trade deadline?

The Hurricanes could also be a team to watch before the deadline. If, that is, they drop off the pace.

At this point, they are still very much in the playoff race in the Eastern Conference, even if they’re not receiving much attention.

Beyond the 12-5-1 record since Jan. 1, there are several other eyebrow-raising numbers associated with a team that last tasted the playoffs in 2009.

The Hurricanes also lead the league in average shots per game (35.5) and fewest shots allowed per game (27.9).

While the lineup is littered with little-known players, Sebastian Aho is one of the game’s great unheralded young players. Before taking the ice at Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday, he had eight goals and 10 assists in his previous 13 games.

The Hurricanes also had revenge on their minds. Back on Jan. 18, the Senators ended their miserable losing streak in Raleigh with a 4-1 win.

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